Angelina Jolie revealed an unexpected career path she once considered before her rise to Hollywood stardom. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, Jolie, 49, shared that she had seriously thought about becoming a funeral director.
During her first late-night talk show appearance in a decade, Fallon asked Jolie about rumors of her interest in other careers. She confirmed the speculation, explaining with a laugh, “Yes, I did. Doesn’t it make sense though?” Jolie revealed the inspiration came after her grandfather’s funeral, which left her thinking about ways to improve the experience for grieving families. “I thought, ‘This should be a celebration of life. I could make this better,’” she said, adding that her comfort with the concept of death made it a natural fit.
Jolie jokingly referred to it as her “fall-back career” before shifting the conversation to her latest project. She is currently promoting Maria, in which she portrays the late opera singer Maria Callas. The film is in select theaters now and will stream on Netflix starting Dec. 11.
The actress previously discussed her interest in funeral services during a 2011 60 Minutes interview. At the time, she explained her dissatisfaction with her grandfather’s funeral sparked the idea, saying, “If this acting thing didn’t work out, that was gonna be my backup.”
Catch Jolie’s full interview on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT.
